Vending machine



Nov. 8, 1932. H Gus 1,887,198

VENDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Aug. 30, 1929 INVENTOR 649F145) 6/458 ATTORNEY Nov. 8, 1932. H. GILES VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 30, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Ham 45y 6/155 BY ATTORNEY H GILES VENDING MACHINE Nov. 8, 1932.

Original Fi led Aug. 30, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 8, 1932. H. GILES 1,887,198

VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 30, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR flail 5y 6/159 Nov. 8, 1932. H. GILES 1,887,198

VENDING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 30, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR fife/Wa y 6);;6

Patented Nov. 8, 1932.

UNITED STFATES PA ENT- OFFICE HARVEY GILES, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR T0 COLLIER ADVERTISING SERVICE; INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION'OF DELAWARE VENDING MACHINE Original application filed August 30, 1929, Serial No. 389,357. Divided and this application filed March 25, I 1931. Serial No. 525,077.

Theinvent'ion relates to an improvement in vending machines of the type in which the manipulation of a plunger orhandle serves to deliver an article when a coin of proper denomination is deposited in the machine. The present application isa division of my copending application Serial No. 389,357, filed August 30', 1929.

- One object-of the invention is the provision of improved means for ejecting a spurious coin from the machine, and of improved means for returnin a proper'coin when the machine is not in condition to deliver an article. Another object of the invention is the provision of improved means for closing the coin slot under certain conditions. To the accomplishment of these objects the invention consists in the improved coin-ejecting mechanism for coin-controlled vending machines hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims. g

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention only so much of the complete machine of said application is shown as is necessary to illustrate the improved coin-ejecting and coin slot-closing mechanism and its relation to the article delivery mechanism and the coin-controlled actuating means therefor. Figure 1 is a transverse section through the vending machine and showing the operating parts in top plan, the article containing hopper and its connected parts being removed from one half of the machine and other parts being removed to show the remaining parts more clearly; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the coin-ejecting mechanism and of related parts of the coincontrolled mechanism Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2but on a larger scale and with certain parts removed; Fig. 4 is a frontelevation ofthe middle portion of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the upper end ofFig. 4 and showing the movable track section in releasing position; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 is a section taken on theline 7-7 of Fig. 1.

' The coin-controlled vending machine shown inthe drawings and to which the improved mechanism of the invention is applied is of the type in which a single plunger 10 is manipulated to'deliver articles fromeither of two hoppers 11 and 12, or from both simultaneously if two coins'are inserted in the iciliachine before the plunger is pulled out war operating the means for deliveringthe articles 13 comprises the plunger 10 on the outer end of which is formed the handle 15. The plunger 10 extends from the front wall'16 to the rear wall 17 of the casing in which the hoppers and the operating parts of the vending machines are housed. The plunger is supported for in and out reciprocatory movements between two upright plates 18 and 19 which support all the parts of the coin-controlled mechanism. The plates are substantially as wide as the casingis deep and are held spaced apart by the pins 20 appropriately positioned at various points where they will not interfere with the operating parts of the mechanism. The plates 18 and'19 are held in position in the casing by thehooks 21 projecting rearwardly from the plates and engaging with portions of an upright plate 22 lining the inner face of the rear wall 17. The plates 18 and 19 are both alike in shape The con-controlled mechanism for and are pierced at various points to accommodate operating parts projecting therethrough.

1 The plunger 10 is supported at its forward end by the pins 23 and at its rear end by the pin 24 which projects through a longitudinal slot 25 in the plunger. The rear end of the slot by engagement with the pin 24 limits the outward movement of the plunger. The plunger is pulled outwardly by the purchaser after he deposits his coin in the machine, and

the plunger is returned to its retracted or 8 normal position, as shown inFig. 3, by means of along coiled spring 27 fastened at its forward endto a pin 28 and at its rear end to a lug 29 on the rearend of the plunger. At its rear endthe spring 27 passes downwardly around a wheel 30 mounted on a pin 31. I

For the purposes of the present disclosure it is sufficient to understand that the articles 13 are delivered one at a time from either hopper 11 or 12 by means of a reciprocatory slide 33. Each of the two slides 33 is connected at its inner end by a pin and slot connection with a pivoted arm 35. The arms 35 are actuated by the plunger 10 and for this purpose the plunger carries two pivoted, springpressed fingers 36 on which are formed the cam lugs 37 which engage with the lugs 38 on the arms 35-. The fingers 36 are adapted to engage and be controlled as to operation by properly positioned coins. VJ hen no coin or coins are in the machine and the plunger is drawn out the cams 37 do not engage the lugs 38 and so neither of the slides 33 is actuated. lVhen however one or the other or both of the fingers 36 engage with coins when the plunger is drawn out then one or the other or, both of the slides 33 are actuated to deliver an article.

The mechanism of the present invention is concerned with directing coins of the proper denomination into position to be engaged by the fingers 36 when the machine is in condition to deliver articles, and with ejecting improper coins, or preventing proper coins from reaching the fingers 36 if the machine is not in condition to deliver an article. Vhen a proper coin 40 has been directed into the machine it rests on a flanged support 41 which forms thebottom of a vertically arranged pocket 42. There is a separate coin directing and ejecting means associated with each. finger 36 and the corresponding parts of the two means will be indicated by the same reference numerals. For convenience the description will for the most part be confined to the coin directing and ejecting means located on the left hand side of the machine. The sides of the lower end of the coin pockets adjacent the coin engaging forward ends of the fingers 36 are cut away to permit the fingers to engage the coins and also to permit them to eject he coins from the pockets so that they will fall to the bottom of the casing. The rear end of the flange or floor of the coin support slants downwardly slightly to assure that the coin will remain in position to be engaged by its respective finger 36. The relative positions of a finger 36 and of a coin which has just been deposited in the machine and before the plunger 10 is pulled outwardly is shown in Fig. 3, in which it will be seen that the shoulder 44 on the linger is behind the coin so that as the lim 21 passage 47 having an inclined bottom 48 which directs the coins into the upper end 49 of the pocket 42. Each pocket 42 is formed on its inner side by one of the plates 18, 19, and on its outer side by a sheet of thin metal having inturned edges abutting the plate. The bottom of the hopper shaped receptacle 46 is formed by the inturned lower edge 51 of an arm 52 pivoted at 53. The edge 51 thus forms a movable section of the coin passage, and the arm 52 is arranged to be moved, each time the plunger is pulled outwardly, to release paper slugs or the like which stop on the section 51. The released material drops into a chute 54 open at its front side except for the pins 55. The lower end of the chute opens into a returned coin passage 57 leading from the middle of the pocket 42 into the hood 58 under which is located a returned coin receptacle 59. Under size coins pass into the chute 54 through the opening 61 in the beginning of the coin passage, being deflected therethrough the out-turned lug 62. At the entrance of'the pocket 42 is located a magnet 63 the upper edge of whichforms part of the coin passage so that the coins roll over it on their way into the pocket. An iron slug inserted in the machine will cling to the magnet until it reaches the under e lge thereof. and then will drop into the passage 57 and be discharged into the receptacle 59.

As a coin which succeeds in passing the obstacles in the coin passage drops down into the pocket 42 it encounters a horizontally arranged arm 65 of a coin detector pivoted at 66 and provided with a weighted tail por tion 67. A stop 68 on the tail portion by engagement with the rear side of the pocket 42 holds the detector so that the arm 65 is subsantially horizontally disposed in the path of the falling coins. If a coin is of the proper size and weight it will tilt the coin detector, pushing the arm 65 downward, and pass into the bottom of the pocket in position to be engaged by a finger 36. A second stop 69 on the tail of the coin detector by engagement with the lug 71 limits the turning movement of the coin detector under the action of the falling coin. If the coin is large enough to pass down the coin passage 47 but is too light to tilt the coin detector, the arm 65 will deflect it, directing it into the returned coin passage 57.

It sometimes happens in the operation of vending machines of this character that pieces of paper or other material from the articles to be vended will accumulate behind the rear end of the plunger and prevent it from assuming its normal, retracted position. The plunger may be held in such advanced position that the article delivery means will not be actuated when a coin is inserted in the machine and the plunger is pulled forward. To return the coin under such conditions, I provide a single guard member 73 located between the plates 18 and 19 and pivoted thereon at 74;. The member 73 has a normal vertical position, being held in that position by means of the lug 75 on 5 the plunger 10 which engages the lower end 77 of the member 73 when the plunger is in retracted position, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position of the member 73, the upper rearwardly curved end 76 thereof is held clear of the pins 79 projecting inwardly from the tail portions of the two coin detectors, thereby permitting the detectors to function normally, allowing proper coins to fall to the bottom of the pockets 42 and directing improper coins into the passages 57. If now the plunger is prevented from returning into its normal retracted position, the lug 75 does not engage with the lower end of the member 73 and consequently the spring 78 will turn the member on its pivot and pull the upper curved end of the member against the pins 79 and hold the coin detectors in the posi-' tion indicated by the dotted lines 80 in Fig. 3. In this position of the coin detectors all coins falling down into the pockets 42 will be deflected into the passages 57 Each coin receiving slot 45 and the coin passage with which it communicates is provided with a shutter 82 arranged to shut off the coin passages from the slots 45 each time the plunger is pulled forward. Each shutter or guard 82 is in the form of a plate, seen in front elevation in F ig. 4-,,which carries on its inner vertical edge an inturned elongated flange 83 arranged to slide vertically and held against its respective plate 18 or 19 by a large-headed screw 84, the upper end of each flange 83 being slotted to receive loosely the neck of the screw. The lower end of the downwardly extending part of each flange 83 is inturned and these inturned ends both rest on the forward end of the arm 85 of a twoarmed lever pivoted at 86 between the two plates 18 and 19. The two armed lever is roughly U-shaped and the forward end of the other arm 87 of the lever normally restson the upper surface of the plunger 10. Under these conditions the shutters 82 are positioned below the coin slots 45 and coins may be inserted in the machine. If now the plunger is pulled outwardly, whether a coin has been inserted in the machine or not, the lug 75 encounters and liftsthe arm 87, thereby turning the lever on its pivot 86 and 11fting the outer end of the arm 85 to ra se the flanges 83 and place the shutters 82 in front of the receptacles 46, thereby shutting off the coin passages from the slots 45. As each shutter 82 rises, a pin 89 projecting rearwardly from it encounters the upper part of the movable coin passage section or arm 52 and tilts it, thereby swinging the inturned lower end 51 thereof outwardly to release any material resting on the edge 51, as indi- 5 cated in Fig. 5. On the return downward movement of the shutters the pins 89 meet the lugs 91 extending laterally from the lower ends of the arms 52 andrestore the arms to normal position with the edges 51 forming partof the bottoms of the coin passages.

If the vendingmachine is employed in connection with a store orother place of sale where the proprietor or clerk isusually in attendance and it is desired to lock the machine except when the proprietor or clerkis absent, Iprovide a dog 92 pivoted at 93 in the plate 19 and having an offset upper end 94: projecting through a hole in the plate 19 and into position to be movedunder the forward end of the arm 87 when the latter is raised, to hold the shutters in front of the coin passages. The means for swinging the dog 92 under the arm 87 and holding it there is the bolt 95 of a lock 96 which engages the lug 97 extending laterally from the dog 92.

.When all the articles have been delivered from either hopper the coin passage associated with the empty hopper is closed by holding its shutter 82 in raised position. For this purpose there is mounted on the outer side of each plate 18, 19 and spaced apart therefrom a lever arm 99. Each lever arm 99 is pivoted at 100 on the'rcar margin of its respective plate and extends forwardly into position to engage by its slotted forward end a bolt 101 projecting laterally from the lower part of the. flange 83 of the shutter mounted on the same plate. The forward edge of each plate 18, 19 is slottedvertically at 102 to accommodate the vertical movements of its respective bolt 101. At the point of each arm 99 opposite the outer side of the adjacent pocket 12 there is an inwardly projecting pin 103 to prevent the arms 99 from swinging inwardly and interfering with the operation of other parts.

Each arm 99 is actuated to lift the shutter 82 connected with its forward end each time the arm 35 of the adjacent article delivery means is moved forward. On the inner end of the slide 33 connected with each arm 35 there is mounted a knob 105 adapted to pass under and in contact with the obliquely arranged lower edge 106 of the adjacent arm 99 and swing the arm on its pivot, thereby raising its forward end. The return movement of the arms 35 frees the knobs 105 from the surfaces 106 and permits the forward ends Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. In a coin-controlled mechanism for operating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means for actuating the article delivery means including a slidably mounted plunger adapted to be manipulated and having a normal retracted position, means for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means comprising a coin passage including a vertically arranged pocket through which the coin passes, and a pivoted unbalanced coin detector having an arm projecting into the pocket,

a spring pressed guard arranged to engage with the dectector and hold it in fixed position so that no coins will pass into the lower end of the pocket adjacent to the element, and means on the plunger adapted to engage with the guard to free the guard from the detector when the plunger is in its retracted position.

2. In a coin-controlled mechanism for operating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coin conthe upper end thereof from the lug when the plunger is in retracted position, and a spring for moving the upper end of the 'uard into engagement with the lug when the plunger is moved out of retracted position.

3. In a coin-controlled mechanism for operating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means for actuating the article delivery means including a slidably mounted plunger adapted to be manipulated and having a normal retracted position, means for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means including a pocket through which the coin passes, a pivoted coin detector having an arm and a tail portion heavier than the arm arranged to overbalance the arm and hold it in the path of a falling coin, a lug projecting from the tail portion of the detector, a vertically arranged pivoted guard the upper end of which is curved and overhangs the lug,

a stop on the plunger adapted to engage with the lower end of the guard to hold the upper end thereof free from the lug while the plunger is in retracted position, and a spring for drawing the upper end of the guard into engagement with the lug to hold the detector in fixed position with the arm projecting into the pocket when the plunger has been moved from its retracted position.

4. In a coin-controlled mechanism for operating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means for actuating the article delivery means including a slidingly mounted plunger adapted to be manipulated, means including a coin passage for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means, a movable section in the passage, a guard for shutting off the passage, said guard having a part adapted to contact with and move the movable section of the passage, and a lever arranged to be actuated by the plunger for moving the guard to shut off the coin passage.

5. In a coin-controlled mechanism for opcrating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means for actuating the article delivery means including a slidingly mounted plunger arranged to be moved forward and backward in the machine, means including a coin passage for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means, a movable section in the passage consisting of a vertically arranged pivoted arm having an inturned lower end constituting a part of the coin passage, a vertically movable guard for shutting oil' the coin passage, a lever arranged to be actuated by the plunger on its forward movement for moving the guard close off the coin passage, said guard and said movable section of the coin passage having cooperating parts whereby the movable section is moved out of the coin passage on the upward movement of the guard and whereby the movable section is returned into normal position on the downward movement of the guard.

6. In a coin-controlled mechanism for op erating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means for actuating the article delivery means including a plunger mounted to be moved forward and backward, means including a coin passage for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means, a vertically slidable guard for shutting off the coin passage when the plunger is moved torward, a lever having two arms one of which engages with the guard and other of which is arranged to be engaged by a part of the plunger for lifting the guard into position to shut oil the coin passage, and a lock-controlled dog arranged to be moved under the second arm of the lever after the plunger has been moved forward to hold the guard in position shutting oil the coin passage.

7. In a coin-controlled mechanism for operating the article delivery means of a vending machine of the character described, coincontrolled means including a plunger for actuating the article delivery means when a coin is in proper position for engagement by said actuating means, a coin passage for conveying a coin to the coin-controlled means, a guard for shutting off the coin passage, guard-shifting means operated by the plungor for placing the guard in front of the coin passage, said guard-shifting means comprising a lever having a part engaged by the plunger and having another part engaging with and shifting the guard, and a lock-controlled movable element arranged to engage one of the lever parts to hold the guard in locked position to shut off the coin passage. HARVEY GILES. 

